October 2012 Archives

This has been a productive week for the program. Fall break afforded us the opportunity to get some good work done on the court on Monday and Tuesday. It also gave us an opportunity to visit the St. Louis Center in Chelsea, Mich.

Visiting the St. Louis Center with our team was a great experience. Serving in the community is something we value as Michigan Wolverines. As a basketball program, we recognize how fortunate we are to compete for a school like Michigan, and we recognize that our reach must extend further than the basketball court and out into the community. Putting a smile on the St. Louis Center residents' faces was tremendous for me and our players.

I wanted to take this opportunity to let Wolverine Nation know that I am partnering with the American Cancer Society with their Cancer Prevention Study-3 in Ann Arbor. I am joining the study as a community champion and my plan is to enroll in the Cancer Prevention Study-3 at Washtenaw Community College on Oct. 27, 2012.

I am committing to this study because I, like many people, have had family and friends who have been touched by cancer. It is important to me to do everything that I can to help find ways to prevent cancer and ultimately put an end to cancer. This study is part of that effort, and I couldn't be more excited about helping out.

As I stated in my last Beilein Weekly, I am going to begin tweeting some of things that I believe as a basketball coach. Here is an idea of some of the content that I intend to tweet.

I Believe ...

Lots of shooting in practice (at least 20 minutes)

Video tape individual shooters every few months to let them understand their technique

I believe in videotaping every practice and I usually watch at least half of it a second time

We are looking forward to this weekend's matchup vs. MSU in the Big House. We wish the Wolverines the best of luck. We all will be rooting hard for them in the stands on Saturday.

What a fun couple of months it's been! September and October have been filled with campus visits -- both official and unofficial -- and we've had a blast. Football games in the Big House, Ice hockey games in the newly renovated Yost Arena, Wolverine tailgates, walking tours through campus on beautiful fall days where the changing leaves on trees light up the sidewalks, celebrating "Team One" with an official trip to campus and welcoming new prospective Wolverines for the first time to the wonderful place we call home.

With each visit this fall, our excitement for next September and the start of our women's lacrosse program has grown. It has given us great joy to spend time with the young women who will make up our first lacrosse team, and there's nothing better than to see the beaming smiles on their faces as we talk about the amazing journey ahead of us. A young group of girls who will be coming together to learn, grow, create and make history from the start is something truly special and unique.

And November is no less exciting as we'll kick off the month signing the first women's lacrosse players to program history! November is also a big recruiting month for us, so we'll be hitting the road nearly every weekend, and I'm excited to get back out there and watch some great lacrosse! The 11th month of the year also brings with it the 2012 edition of the IWLCA Convention in Naples, Fla. I'm looking forward to connecting with fellow coaches, getting caught up with everything going on in the sport of women's lacrosse, soaking up some of that warm Florida sun, and enjoying a great weekend of recruiting to top it all off!

It's hard to believe that summer is now in the rear view mirror and the holiday season is just around the corner, but what a great time of year this is! Before we know it, we will be ringing in 2013 -- the year of the arrival of TEAM ONE! For now, it's all about enjoying the process.

Basketball officially begins today! Our first practice is this evening at 5 p.m. and we are looking forward to it. The players have finished up their preseason skills testing and now it is time to translate all of their off-season efforts into success in-season.

This first practice is especially exciting for our five freshmen who have not yet experienced a complete Big Ten practice. On the practice floor, we establish good habits. The habits we establish will determine the type of team that we will be. I can't wait to see how our guys attack these first couple of practices. We are confident that they will bring the appropriate level of intensity and focus.

During this time of the year, basketball activities allow me to get into a nice rhythm for work. Most days start out with me watching film or planning practices very early in the morning. When I arrive to the office, I usually try to spend the morning handling any office work that needs to be completed. After lunch at my desk, I usually meet with the staff to finish planning practice and to discuss other basketball matters. Practice usually begins every day in the late afternoon with a film session before we take the practice court.

Stay tuned to my Twitter (@JohnBeilein) over the next few weeks as I tweet some of the things that I believe as a basketball coach. These beliefs have emerged out of my time as a basketball coach from the high school level to the Division I level.

After the excitement of the Staff vs. Student-Athlete softball game a few weeks ago, things around here have finally settled down and it is back to business. We are looking forward to official practice starting this week, but for now the players are completing their preseason skills testing.

Preseason skills testing serves as a way to assist our guys in their on-the-court development. The summer months serve as the time for players to work on their games. Skill testing holds them accountable working on their game. Our staff loves preseason testing because it becomes very evident who has invested time into working on their game.

Last Wednesday, I went to watch the Detroit Pistons practice in their facility in Auburn Hills. I am a big fan of Pistons head coach Lawrence Frank. We were very fortunate to have him speak at our coaches' clinic last year and I appreciated the opportunity to watch his team practice last week.

In watching NBA players move up and down the court, it is amazing to me how quickly space disappears and is taken up by world class athletes. One second a driving or passing lane looks open and the next second it disappears.

In watching Lawrence Frank conduct practice, I was amazed at how we echo many of the same things that Coach Frank teaches his players. When a teammate hits the ground, help him up quickly and enthusiastically. Point guards are the quarterbacks and must always know the time and score. Communication is critical on defense, especially in ball screen defense.

The amount of information NBA players must retain is tremendous. Basketball truly is a thinking man's game. Watching Lawrence Frank run practice further lets me know that at the highest levels, the mental edge and capacity that a coaching staff can foster in a team helps separate the team from its competition.

It is not about what the coaching staff knows; we can't execute the plan. It is about what the players know and are able to execute.

We look forward to kicking off the start of official practice on Friday. Guys were able to put on their uniforms last week for picture day in Crisler Center. Seeing our players in their uniforms is exciting for the players and for the staff because it signals that the season is drawing near.

I am exhausted, oops, I mean excited to update all of you Wolverine fans on the status of our first recruiting class set to arrive on campus next fall 2013 and compete for the Maize and Blue in the spring of 2014.

TEAM ONE consists of 28 individuals from 10 different states. I am especially proud of the diverse personalities, which mirror the many states we have represented from the East Coast to the West Coast. We worked hard compiling this group of individuals based equally on character and discipline, as well as athletic ability. Michigan values the meaning of the student-athlete and celebrates one's differences.

This is how the states break down: one from California, one from Connecticut, two from Illinois, three from Massachusetts, five from Maryland, three from Michigan, three from New Jersey, five from New York, four from Pennsylvania, and one from Texas.

If you needed a breath while reading that list then you just experienced how I would sum up my first year at the University of Michigan -- breathtaking!

These individuals will gather in Ann Arbor 11 months from now, when we will stand together for the first time as the Michigan women's lacrosse team, to begin our journey together. Bound by pride, character and determination, we will strive to be the best in every way. Perhaps then and only then, I will catch my breath.